Indonesia’s Tycoons Take a Beating as MSCI Loses Patience
Jakarta. Indonesian billionaire Prajogo Pangestu saw his fortune shrink by $1.8 billion (Rp 31.5 trillion) in a single day on his 82nd birthday after global index provider MSCI removed three of his flagship companies from its Global Standard Indexes.
Shares of Barito Renewables Energy (BREN) plunged 11.36% on Wednesday, while Chandra Asri Pacific (TPIA) tumbled 14.85% and Petrindo Jaya Kreasi (CUAN) fell 10% after MSCI announced its May 2026 index review.
Despite the sharp decline, Prajogo remains Indonesia’s richest person with a net worth of $18.6 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire rankings.
The selloff extended beyond Prajogo’s empire as Indonesian stocks broadly retreated following MSCI’s decision not to add any Indonesian companies to the MSCI Global Standard Index while removing six existing constituents. The changes will take effect on June 1.
The benchmark Jakarta market closed down nearly 2%, reflecting investor concerns over Indonesia’s standing among global institutional investors.
The fallout extended well beyond Prajogo’s empire. Low Tuck Kwong, the coal magnate behind Bayan Resources, lost roughly $240 million. R. Budi Hartono, co-owner of Bank Central Asia, saw his fortune shrink by $75 million. Anthoni Salim, whose family controls Indofood, lost $69 million, while Harita Group's Lim Hariyanto Wijaya Sarwono forfeited about $93 million.
MSCI said it was freezing Indonesia’s May 2026 rebalancing process amid concerns over free float transparency and public ownership structures that it said did not fully meet global investor standards.
The review resulted in the removal of several high-profile Indonesian stocks from the MSCI Global Standard Index, including Amman Mineral Internasional, Chandra Asri Pacific, Dian Swastatika Sentosa, Petrindo Jaya Kreasi, Barito Renewables Energy and Sumber Alfaria Trijaya.
Hasan Fawzi, head of capital market supervision at Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority, said the removals reflected the companies’ failure to meet MSCI’s evolving criteria.
He described the changes as part of Indonesia’s capital market reform agenda aimed at improving long-term credibility and transparency for global investors, even if it creates short-term market pressure.
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